Understanding Requirements. Requirements Engineering Developed by Reneta Barneva, SUNY Fredonia

http://www.projectcartoon.com/cartoon/108160

Requirements Engineering-I Inception—ask a set of questions that establish … basic understanding of the problem the people who want a solution the nature of the solution that is desired, and the effectiveness of preliminary communication and collaboration between the customer and the developer Elicitation—elicit requirements from all stakeholders Elaboration—create an analysis model that identifies data, function and behavioral requirements Negotiation—agree on a deliverable system that is realistic for developers and customers These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Requirements Engineering-II Specification—can be any one (or more) of the following: A written document A set of models A formal mathematical A collection of user scenarios (use-cases) A prototype Validation—a review mechanism that looks for errors in content or interpretation areas where clarification may be required missing information inconsistencies (a major problem when large products or systems are engineered) conflicting or unrealistic (unachievable) requirements. Requirements management (next lecture) These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Inception Identify stakeholders “who else do you think I should talk to?” Recognize multiple points of view Work toward collaboration The first questions Who is behind the request for this work? Who will use the solution? What will be the economic benefit of a successful solution Is there another source for the solution that you need? These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Eliciting Requirements meetings are conducted and attended by both software engineers and customers rules for preparation and participation are established an agenda is suggested a "facilitator" (can be a customer, a developer, or an outsider) controls the meeting a "definition mechanism" (can be work sheets, flip charts, or wall stickers or an electronic bulletin board, chat room or virtual forum) is used the goal is to identify the problem propose elements of the solution negotiate different approaches, and specify a preliminary set of solution requirements These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Elicitation Work Products a statement of need and feasibility. a bounded statement of scope for the system or product. a list of customers, users, and other stakeholders who participated in requirements elicitation a description of the system’s technical environment. a list of requirements (preferably organized by function) and the domain constraints that apply to each. a set of usage scenarios that provide insight into the use of the system or product under different operating conditions. any prototypes developed to better define requirements. These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Building the Analysis Model Elements of the analysis model Scenario-based elements Functional—processing narratives for software functions Use-case—descriptions of the interaction between an “actor” and the system Class-based elements Implied by scenarios – class diagram Behavioral elements State diagram Flow-oriented elements Data flow diagram These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Use-Cases A collection of user scenarios that describe the thread of usage of a system Each scenario is described from the point-of-view of an “actor”—a person or device that interacts with the software in some way Each scenario answers the following questions: Who is the primary actor, the secondary actor (s)? What are the actor’s goals? What preconditions should exist before the story begins? What main tasks or functions are performed by the actor? What extensions might be considered as the story is described? What variations in the actor’s interaction are possible? What system information will the actor acquire, produce, or change? Will the actor have to inform the system about changes in the external environment? What information does the actor desire from the system? Does the actor wish to be informed about unexpected changes? These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Use-Case Diagram These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

From the SafeHome system … Class Diagram From the SafeHome system … These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

State Diagram Reading Commands State name System status = “ready” Display msg = “enter cmd” Display status = steady State variables Entry/subsystems ready Do: poll user input panel Do: read user input Do: interpret user input State activities These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Negotiating Requirements Identify the key stakeholders These are the people who will be involved in the negotiation Determine each of the stakeholders “win conditions” Win conditions are not always obvious Negotiate Work toward a set of requirements that lead to “win-win” These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Specifications - templates Pressman: http://www.processimpact.com/process_assets/srs_preview.pdf Al Dawud – Illinois Institute of Technology: http://www.cs.iit.edu/~oaldawud/CS487/project/requirement_specification_document_template.htm These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Validating Requirements - I Is each requirement consistent with the overall objective for the system/product? Have all requirements been specified at the proper level of abstraction? That is, do some requirements provide a level of technical detail that is inappropriate at this stage? Is the requirement really necessary or does it represent an add-on feature that may not be essential to the objective of the system? Is each requirement bounded and unambiguous? Does each requirement have attribution? That is, is a source (generally, a specific individual) noted for each requirement? Do any requirements conflict with other requirements? These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.

Validating Requirements - II Is each requirement achievable in the technical environment that will house the system or product? Is each requirement testable, once implemented? Does the requirements model properly reflect the information, function and behavior of the system to be built. Has the requirements model been “partitioned” in a way that exposes progressively more detailed information about the system. Have requirements patterns been used to simplify the requirements model. Have all patterns been properly validated? Are all patterns consistent with customer requirements? These slides are designed to accompany Software Engineering: A Practitioner’s Approach, 7/e (McGraw-Hill, 2009). Slides copyright 2009 by Roger Pressman.